Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Doorway parts 1 and 2- We loved the hair! Times are changing. We hardly recognize half these people though. We know now that Don decided to cheat on Megan, but man are we glad she's still around. And she's a successful actress! We never thought that would happen, but that's amazing.

Ted- A stupid waste of time that wasn't even funny 90% of the time. Also, Mila Kunis has a great body. Whoever did her costumes did her an injustice by making sure they didn't fit it. Movie grade: C-

Killing Them Softly- Redboxed at the last minute because we saw that Brad Pitt was in it. It was pretty good. It had the best scene of a car blowing up that we've ever seen. The political commentary would annoy some capitalists (if they watch/think closely enough), but we didn't care. This was a darkly funny small-time gangster indie. We couldn't help but compare it to the superior Seven Psychopaths. Movie grade: B-

Friday, April 12, 2013

Shooting Star- Last night, Glee did a "school shooting" episode. Note the quotes. Because this was less an episode on the topic of school shooting than a pointless episode about nothing. Glee wanted some attention, so leaked the topic of the episode way before it aired. Ryan Murphy tweeted that it was the most "powerful" episode of Glee yet (it wasn't).

Instead it was a missed opportunity intending to provoke and get talked about. ASB: Attention-Seeking Behavior. The stunt worked. People watched and are talking. We're talking. The episode started out good, but then it got stupid. We don't think it was "off tone." Glee has done serious episodes and moments before. It's usually a comedy, but it's allowed to change it up.

You wouldn't know it from this blog, but we've been watching Smash's second season. Last year, we heard that Smash was going to be completely overhauled, its kinks worked out, and its level of quality raised. There have certainly been a lot of changes, especially in the cast. There's no more Leo, Julia's husband with the kick ass singing voice didn't even get to sing before he left, and there's no more Ellis or Dev, thank God. Most of these characters were dragging down the stories anyway.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Game of Thrones, season 3, episodes 1-2
This show always starts each season off slow, because it's based on books and most books build to climaxes. The first two episodes were fine and beautiful and got us pumped for the rest of the season. The second one was a little dull and uneventful, but we're loving Cersei losing her influence and feeling backed into a corner. As people who have read the book this season will be based on, we assure you that this will probably be the best season of this show.

We know some of you love those, so we'll tell you which ones we saw this weekend and our thoughts in brief. We wanted to see Mathilda and Pippin, but we ran out of time. Our favorite musicals include Ragtime, Les Miserables, Wicked, Rent, Next to Normal, Spring Awakening, Legally Blonde, Avenue Q, Sweeney Todd, Funny Girl, The Wild Party, Company, and Into the Woods.

Spoilers after the jump. If you haven't seen it, read up to the "read more" button.

Yes yes, we know this show's entire first season aired on the BBC, but Americans are just now getting to it. Two episodes have aired on PBS, American home of this show's twin, Downton Abbey. We are going to watch it at a U.S. pace.

Man, was this show long. The premiere was one hour and 50 minutes. The second episode is nearly 50 minutes long. But once you get into it, it goes quickly. The second episode rushed by in no time. The first half of the pilot took a little while to get used to.

This show is about an American, Harry Selfridge, in London in 1909. He's a businessman who wants to build a brash, great department store called Selfridges. He does so and opens it, hiring beautiful men and women to run it, and hooking up with society's elite to get funds and connections.

So it's like Downton Abbey, only it's a store instead of a manor. There are a lot of characters too, but we found it easier to keep them straight than when we first started watching Downton. Like that show, it looks great. The fashion and set pieces are Victorian and loads of fun.

BBC didn't skimp on the beautiful women this time. The girl playing Ellen Love blows Michelle Dockery's looks out of the water. Most of them men are more than decent too. No stand out hotties like Branson yet though. Jeremy Piven is alright as the lead. Some lines come out a little wrong, but Piven has the presence needed for the role. He's a flamboyant, loud actor with no subtlety who is playing a bold man with confidence to spare. It works.

This show is a little more...scandalous?...than Downton. There are more forbidden trysts and more manipulators. It's like Downton Abbey meets Mad Men. This is a compliment. While comparisons to Downton are inevitable, this show has its own tone and stands up favorably against the powerhouse. It's a good thing to watch while we are waiting for the Crawleys and their servants to return.

It's less soapy and ridiculous than Downton so far too. The writing is pretty good. There are enough sympathetic characters that we have someone to root for, but this is a show full of charming anti-heroes. Overall, we enjoyed these episodes, but we aren't addicted yet. We need more stakes and more excitement. We'll give the show more time.

Episode 1 grade: B+, Episode 2 grade: B
If you have seen the episode, read more.

One of us went to New York City. Also, one of us got puppies. If you've never had puppies, you don't know what time-consuming maniacs they are. Trust us. They take a lot of work. But TV waits for no man (or dog), so a lot has happened on the Tube since we last talked to you guys.

Game of Thrones premiered, finally. Thank the good Lord. We love that show so much we named the puppies after a couple of incestuous Lannisters. The puppies are also male and female babies from the same litter. They are already trying to mount each other. They will be fixed ASAP. No one wants a Joffrey.

Supernatural season 8, episodes 10-19
We were shocked at how little we've mentioned Supernatural this year. We've been updating and commenting on the "Supernatural Episodes You Can Skip" post a lot, so it feels like we've been discussing it. But it deserves a post. Bravo to the new showrunner from taking it from abysmal to "just okay." That's more than we could have asked for.

About the bloggers

Ern is a lawyer. Ern's all-time favorite shows are LOST and Breaking Bad. Other favorites include Homeland and South Park. She also enjoys opera, water skiing, arguing, and movies. Ern responds to most of the comments, because they go directly to her phone. Ern also starts most of the posts and leaves them half done, as drafts, for Leeard to finish. As far as international visitors go, Ern is excited to see visitors from Germany, the UK, and Israel.

Leeard is a technology consultant and a nice Italian Catholic girl. Leeard's all-time favorite show is Gilmore Girls, but her favorite shows on right now are Game of Thrones, Pretty Little Liars, and The Vampire Diaries. Leeard can do your taxes, loves sports, and has an insane amount of pop culture knowledge. Leeard is excited to see visitors from Russia and Poland because she speaks conversational Russian and Polish (and Spanish).

We started this blog because of our insane addictions to TV. We thought that, while we were "wasting our lives," we would at least get writing and thinking practice out of it.